


How Long?

by orphan_account



Series: The Stressbaker'Verse [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Stressbaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 17:10:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>FEBRUARY 2011: Blaine and Kurt are just friends. So why does everyone assume otherwise?</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Long?

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea about American terms for different types of shops and features of shops, and for how American shops work. I'm going to assume that it's pretty much the same as in the UK. With that said, my knowledge of the Lima Bean is pretty extensive.

**Saturday, 09:13am**

Blaine pulled open the door to The Lima Bean, and let Kurt enter before following close behind. They stood at the counter, and, waiting patiently for a barista to take their order, continued their heated debate on the finer points of the fashion faux-pas that is the Dalton uniform.

"All I'm saying is that they could SURELY have chosen a better colour than RED for a sweater to go with that sorry excuse for an ensemble. They cost more than most of my normal outfits, and yet they're made of what seems to be the cheapest polyester blend they could find."

Blaine just looked on amused as Kurt ranted, and was about to respond when he spotted that a barista had arrived at the till.

"Hi guys. It's Kurt and Blaine, right? A non-fat mocha and a medium drip?"

Before either of the boys could respond, their order was through the till.

"Anything else, guys?" Blaine shook his head, and Sandy smiled.

Kurt and Blaine both reached into their pockets to pay for the drinks, but Sandy shook her head at them

"Sorry guys - I can't let you pay today. It's already been covered for you."

With that, she got to work on making their drinks, while Kurt and Blaine exchanged bemused glances, and walked to the end of the counter to wait for their coffee. Their discussion of the uniform continued while Sandy finished up, and they smiled graciously when their drinks were placed in front of them.

"Thank you" they said in unison, before collecting the cups from the counter. They were about to turn towards their table when Sandy asked them a question that made them stop in their tracks.

"So, guys. I was wondering. How long have you two been together?"

If either of them had yet taken a sip of their drink, it would have been spat over the floor at that question, but instead they just stood there with gaping mouths. After what felt like a century, Blaine finally managed to clarify the situation.

"No, we're not... I mean... we are... we're just not... together... he's not my boyfriend."

Kurt hoped that Blaine's message had been understood, because he wasn't fancying his chances at giving a more coherent explanation than his friend. Instead, Sandy just laughed, and took to cleaning the countertop in front of them.

Kurt and Blaine turned and walked to their seats, trying to continue their coffee not-date as normally as they could.

* * *

**Saturday, 10:37am**

Kurt headed towards the checkout, with Blaine following and carrying the basket. Kurt watched as Blaine unloaded their purchases onto the conveyor belt before putting the basket away. As the cashier scanned their items, Blaine tried to bargain with Kurt one last time:

"KUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRTTTTTT! You got your Peppermint Patties, why can't I have one bag of Sour Patch Kids?" He was fully aware he sounded like a child, but he couldn't bring himself to care

"BLLLLAAAAAAAIIINNNNEEEE!" Kurt mocked him "Peppermint Patties are heaven, while Sour Patch Kids are just sugar and colouring in a yellow bag. Besides, you could do with going on a diet. I don't want to see you lose that fabulous muscle tone just because you couldn't take care of yourself."

Blaine huffed, and pouted, before turning away from Kurt. He heard a laugh from behind him, and turned back to find the source of the sound.

"Awwww! Aren't you two just the cutest? Say, how long have you two been together?"

The cashier continued packing their purchases as she gushed over the pair, and earned herself a look of incredulity from both of the time, it was Kurt who rectified the situation.

"We're really not together, hun. We're just best friends, honestly."

The cashier laughed at their discomfort, but said nothing more about it.

Kurt paid for their stuff, and Blaine picked up the bag, as he had been trained to do over the previous months. Just as they were about to leave, the cashier motioned that she wanted to whisper in Kurt's ear. He complied with her wishes, and she leaned over the till to dispense her wisdom.

"Don't give up on him. He's cute." Kurt blushed slightly. "Also, you've got him whipped."

And with that, Kurt's face turned beet-red. He nodded and then strode out of the store, hiding his face in his hands. Blaine tried to find the words to query Kurt's reaction, but came up blank and remained silent.

* * *

**Saturday, 11:59am**

"Excuse me, ma'am" Blaine put on his charm in order to attract the attention of a passer-by. "Could you possibly take a picture of me and my friend in front of that fountain?"

"Of course, honey." The woman replied, smiling warmly, and Blaine handed his phone over to her before rushing into position next to Kurt. "Say cheese!" she teased, as she pressed the button to take the picture.

She waited for the picture to load. "That's probably the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Are you two... together?" She stalled slightly when trying to find the right words.

Kurt and Blaine shifted uncomfortably, acknowledging that this was the third time in as many hours that their relationship had been questioned. Luckily, though, they managed to get away with a well-rehearsed denial, this time.

* * *

**Saturday, 01:04pm**

"... And a diet coke." the waitress finished reading back the order, and Kurt nodded at her before she skipped off in the direction of the kitchens.

"I'm just saying - I still don't know that I'm comfortable going to a performance at McKinley, Kurt."

"Blaine, Give me your hand." Blaine held his hand out, and Kurt wrapped his around it. Blaine placed his other hand on top.

"I know you're concerned, and I understand completely. And yes, I am worried too. But this is life, Blaine. Everything's fine at Dalton, and we never have to worry. But that's not what the world is like, and we need to learn to deal with the fact that there will be people who don't like who we are."

"I guess I'll just have to try to focus on the performance. We did promise we'd go and support your friends, after all."

They slipped into a comfortable silence, until the waitress returned with their drinks.

"Okay a diet coke and a lemonade." she announced, placing the drinks in front of the two boys, before looking up and seeing their hands.

"You two are seriously all kinds of cute!" she gushed. "Is this your first date, or what?"

The two boys just laughed, and released each other's hands, before clarifying once again that they were only friends. The girl gave them an uncertain look, but returned to taking the orders from other tables.

* * *

**Saturday, 04:38pm**

"... And thanks once again for coming out and supporting us this afternoon." Rachel finished off their invitational performance, before the curtains closed and people began to leave.

Kurt and Blaine were first out of the doors as soon as they opened, and nearly charged at full pelt in the direction of the Choir Room. Kurt was so distracted by the idea of visiting his friends that he didn't watch where he was going, and he walked straight into a set of lockers.

A couple of seconds passed before he realised that it wasn't his own lack of concentration that sent him into the lockers, but the fact that he was pushed. He tentatively looked next to him to see Blaine slumped onto the floor, and then Kurt turned around to confront their attacker.

"What are you fags doing in this school? I thought we'd got rid of you. You're not welcome here, Kurt. Nor is your boyfriend." Karofsky took a step towards Kurt before delivering his next line.

"Just be warned. Next time I see you queers in here, sprinkling your fairy dust around the place, it won't be a locker that gives you your bruises."

With that Karofsky walked away, leaving the two boys alone in the corridor.

* * *

**Saturday, 04:53pm**

"I can't believe that guy, sometimes!" Finn ranted. "I mean, after the championship game, he seemed to turn over a new leaf. We never got as much grief about being in Glee, anymore! But he can't do that to you guys!" Finn bashed his fist against the side of the piano, earning a hard glare from Brad.

"Look, I know it's bad, guys, but we're used to it." Blaine reassured them, sitting down next to Kurt.

"At least you have your boyfriend to help you get through these things, hey?" Tina spoke up from where she had been crying into Mike's shoulder.

Kurt and Blaine both flushed a deep red, and their hands met their foreheads simultaneously.

* * *

**Saturday, 08:46pm**

"Blaine, can we talk about something?" Kurt was nervously wringing his hands together, trying to get the courage to confront his best friend.

"Of course, Kurt, you know we can talk about anything." Blaine set aside his book, and sat up in Kurt's bed, motioning for Kurt to sit down next to him. "What's your problem?"

"You realise that there were SIX times today when someone assumed we were a couple? In fact... never mind, it's not important." Kurt made to stand up, but Blaine gently rested his hands on Kurt's shoulders, and eased him back into his seat.

"This is important. It must be important to you if you decided to bring it up?" he reasoned.

"I was just wondering something... Why are we NOT a couple?" Kurt took a deep breath after his question, waiting for the onslaught from his friend.

"What... What... What do you mean, Kurt?" there was a shakiness in Blaine's voice that Kurt couldn't quite decipher, and that made him feel all the more uneasy.

"Well... we hold hands - sometimes in public. We go everywhere together. We have dinners at Breadsticks and coffee "not-dates" at the Lima Bean. We know everything about each other. And our movie nights invariably end up with one of us in the other's arms. I don't think that's what best friends do."

Blaine started rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, and tried to prepare an answer.

"Kurt." He began. "I... I don't know how to respond. I just thought we were letting our friendship develop naturally, and not trying to restrict ourselves to 'conventional' definitions? But maybe that's not right of me. We should probably have spoken about it before now."

He couldn't bring his head up to look Kurt in the eye, and he was nervous about the unspoken words running through his mind.

"Blaine."

The tone wasn't cold and harsh, but it wasn't the usual friendly tone Blaine normally expected from his best friend. This caught his attention, and he jerked his head up to meet Kurt's gaze. Behind those beautiful glasz eyes, he caught a glimpse of something - a fire of sorts, it appeared to be.

"Blaine. I really like being your friend. Your best friend even. But I feel that there might be more to us. Would you... Do you want to..."

"Do I want to be your boyfriend?" Blaine finished for him, and then responded without waiting for confirmation of the question. "Yes!" he nearly screamed it, and he couldn't stop the tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

Before he could think to wipe them away, he felt the bed dip slightly closer to him, and his eyes fluttered shut as Kurt's lips met his in a soft kiss.

It lasted just a couple of seconds, but Blaine had never felt more at ease than after that display of emotion. He opened his eyes to look over at his new boyfriend.

* * *

**Sunday, 09:04am**

Blaine awoke to find himself in Kurt's embrace, on Kurt's bed. He carefully untangled his limbs from those of his boyfriend, and stood up slowly, ensuring that he didn't wake the sleeping figure next to him.

He looked over at Kurt, and his breath caught at the sight. Blaine had never seen anything so beautiful in all of his life, and he felt so privileged to be able to call that boy his boyfriend.

He descended the stairs, and passed the living room door, before entering the kitchen. He stopped in the kitchen's doorway, and traced his steps backwards to the previous room. Peering through the doorframe, he caught a glimpse of familiar curly hair on the armchair, and he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"You going to stand there all day, babbie, or are you going to come in here and thank your sister for helping you FINALLY get your act together?" Francey piped up, without looking towards the door.

Blaine was confused, but took a seat across from his sister, and tried to use his eyes to prompt her to explain further.

"I don't understand. I mean, I assume Kurt texted you to tell you we were together, but how did you HELP at all?"

"I had my methods." She replied, cryptically. "I knew you'd be sticking pretty heavily to a pre-planned schedule, so I planted a few people along the way to prompt you."

Then the pieces finally clicked into place for Blaine, and he didn't know whether to slap his sister or hug her. He chose instead to remain seated and clarify the situation.

"I take it you were suitably amused by the comments from the barista, the cashier, the waitress and from Tina?" Francey smirked as her brother's face contorted, trying to decide how he felt.

"I knew it was all too coincidental, and that we didn't really seem like a couple!" he was almost angry that he'd believed that everyone had picked up on their chemistry, but then realised that Francey's list had been incomplete.

"Wait - what about the woman who took our photograph?" Blaine queried. "Wasn't she part of your plan?"

Francey's smirk transformed quickly into a frown, and she shook her head. "I didn't know you'd be having pictures taken, babbie."


End file.
